1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fluid treatment apparatuses, and more particularly to a modular fluid treatment apparatus in which fluid is directed through a treatment media contained in at least one treatment module as a means of purifying the fluid.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The fluid treatment process involves removing a variety of undesirable contaminants from a fluid source. The removal of each of the contaminants may require a different process, including both mechanical and chemical filters. Prior art fluid filtering systems have addressed the problem of multiple and different fluid contaminants in a variety of ways.
The most basic system involves simply depositing different types of purifying media in a single containment tank, and then directing fluid through the tank. The “media” may include any physical material used in standard fluid treatment practice, including, but not limited to, cation exchange resins, carbons, filter sands, deionization resins, catalysts, ph adjusters, and the like. While this type of treatment is relatively simple to perform, the media generally do not form a homogenous mix so that all the fluid directed through the tank may not be uniformly exposed to each type of media within the tank. Fluid within the tank frequently forms channels around the densest media so that the fluid produced from the process is not consistently treated and consequently may still retain undesirable contaminants.
If the various treatment media in the fluid treatment containment tank are thoroughly mixed, the individual media may break down or become diluted and ineffective. Additionally, removing some specific types of contaminants requires a specific treatment sequence, which is not possible in a single open-tank type system. Further, in a treatment system with mixed media, it is essentially impossible to effectively remove and replace only one type of media, without also replacing all the media.
To ensure that all the water is consistently treated and the treatment media is not diluted or destroyed, multi-tank systems have been developed that have an individual tank dedicated to each type of media, so that the fluid is directed through a series of sequential treatment tanks. While this type of treatment system is, in some ways, ideal, it also relatively expensive and requires a significant amount of space and resources to construct. Further, a multi-tank system includes a network of valves, piping, and tanks that must be periodically cleaned and maintained. As a result of these and other limitations, multi-tank systems are generally practical for only high-volume users with significant resources.
Treatment system manufacturers have attempted to address these concerns by designing systems for relatively low volume users that have a single tank, but also include multiple individual layers of media arranged within the tank so that fluid flows sequentially through each layer. While these types of systems are an improvement over previous systems, the layered systems are still relatively inflexible. The different types of filter media comprising the layering system are consumed by the filtration process at differing rates. To remove and service a specific target layer, the layers above the target layer must be individually removed from the tank, and then reinstalled after the target layer has been serviced and prior to re-starting operation.
Alternatively, the entire layered system can be serviced at once by “backwashing” the system, however, because all of the fluid injected into the system must pass through all of the media layers before the fluid can be extracted, sediment removed from the lower layers is frequently re-deposited in the system's upper layers before the fluid flows out of the treatment device. Additionally, conventional layered systems do not give the user the option of adding or extracting fluid between the treatment layers.
The need exists for a fluid treatment system that enables an operator to service or individually remove a filter media module without affecting or removing the other filter media in the system. The need also exists for a system that allows a user to add or remove fluid during the treatment process and provides a more effective means of servicing the system. The current invention is a stand-alone modular water treatment system that allows individual pod-type modules to be removed and replaced with minimal disassembly of other pods in the system. The system is extremely flexible and may contain as few as one pod, or multiple pods. The system also allows a user to blend or remove fluid between the treatment pods, and is configured to allow user to service the system to more effectively remove sediment built up in the treatment media.